


Friendsgiving

by BatuuPrincess



Series: Damerey Holidays [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: DameRey, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Friendsgiving, Modern AU, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-25 17:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16665394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatuuPrincess/pseuds/BatuuPrincess
Summary: Rey is none too pleased to hear that Finn invited a last-minute guest to Friendsgiving. That is, until she meets Poe Dameron.





	Friendsgiving

**Author's Note:**

> So, instead of working on one of my four (!) active WIPs, I decided to write this fluffy little story in honor of my own group's Friendsgiving last night. Hope you enjoy!

Rey flitted from room to room in her tiny duplex, checking last minute items off her list. The tables were set (check), the hors d’oeuvres were out (check), and the first two bottles of red were breathing on the countertop (check). She made sure that the oven was preheated to Rose’s exact specifications before starting to dump ingredients in to her borrowed punch bowl for the signature cocktail.

 _Now there’s nothing to do but wait_ , she thought, adding a final bit of champagne to the bowl and stirring.

This year was Rey’s turn to host Friendsgiving, her little group’s answer to the Thanksgiving holiday. They’d been doing it for years, ever since the first semester of college when they’d found each other eating alone in the dining hall over the long holiday weekend. It had started out as a bit of an orphan’s Thanksgiving, a group of lost souls who either couldn’t make it home for the holiday or didn’t have a home to go to sharing a meal and a little company. Over the years it had morphed into something else entirely, making the move from actual Thanksgiving Day to the weekend before as they all grew up and gained partners, most people finally able to get home for the holiday.

Of course, time hadn’t changed Rey’s situation. Her own family long gone, she still spent Thanksgiving alone, ordering a pizza and settling in to her couch for a movie (or three). It didn’t bother her much anymore, not when this little event provided a nice substitute, though she couldn’t help but be a little jealous when she heard her friends complain about logistics and multiple meals and in-laws fighting over who got the first dinner spot.

Rey mentally shook herself out of her thoughts. There was no need for her to go down that path, not when people would start arriving any minute. Plus, she still needed to check the bathroom for extra toilet paper and put out the good soap. She wiped her hands before crossing the living room to her little first floor powder room.

She was finishing stacking the extra TP when she heard the side door open.

“Rey!” shouted Rose from the kitchen. She heard the oven door open and close. “I’m here!”

Rey popped her head out of the bathroom. “Turkey made it ok?”

Finn and Rose shared the other side of the duplex, the proximity making it easy to tag-team events like this, especially since Rey’s cooking left something to be desired.

There had been a unanimous vote to let Rose make the turkey, especially after Rey’s infamous soup incident a few months ago. Honestly, it didn’t even offend Rey. She knew her talents lie elsewhere; appetizers and drinks were where she truly shined.

“Yup,” said Rose, helping herself to a drink as Rey re-entered the kitchen. “Should be done in another hour barring any catastrophes from moving it. This is nice, where’d you get it?” she asked, pointing to the punch bowl.

“Leia let me borrow it,” replied Rey.

Rose shook her head and laughed. “Of course she did.”

Leia was their landlord, an eccentric older lady who had a serious soft spot for Rey. Rose found the dynamic hilarious, though she kept her comments to a minimum, especially since she and Finn also enjoyed ridiculously low rent thanks to Leia’s fondness for Rey.

“Where’s Finn?” asked Rey, changing the subject. She started to fiddle with the arrangement of dishes on the counter lacking anything better to do.

“Still primping,” replied Rose. She popped a piece of cheese into her mouth. “I don’t know how many more times that man can brush his hair.”

Rey laughed, trying to decide if she wanted a mini stuffed pepper or some chips and dip.

“So, don’t shoot the messenger,” started Rose, Rey freezing with a mini stuffed pepper halfway to her mouth. “But Finn may have invited a coworker to come tonight.”

Taking Rey’s silence as an invitation to keep speaking, she went on. “His name’s Poe something, I didn’t catch the last name. Finn heard him talking about how his dad was out of the country this year and that he wasn’t going to have a real Thanksgiving dinner, so he told him to stop by. You know how Finn likes to pick up strays.”

Rey knew firsthand how much Finn liked to pick up strays, she’d been one of his first back in freshman year. She tried not to be annoyed by the last minute addition, she really did, but it still irked her that no one had thought to tell her sooner.

She slapped on what she hoped was genuine-looking smile and moved toward the cabinet to grab another place setting. “Good thing I went with two tables instead of one,” she said, trying keep the snark out of her voice. She wasn’t fooling Rose.

“I’m so sorry, I assumed he’d texted you yesterday or I would have done it myself.”

Rey sighed, not wanting to be that person, the one who couldn’t handle a curveball thrown her way. They’d always adopted a “more the merrier” policy with these things, so what was one extra. Even if it was ten minutes prior to the party starting. “I know, I know. I’m just being silly. Of course it’s fine.”

“You’re the best, Rey,” said Rose, giving her a brief hug. She grabbed the plate from her hands. “Here, I can finish this for you.”

The side door opened with a gust of cold air.

“Hey, peanut,” said Finn, an arm going around her shoulders for a quick squeeze. “Rose tell you about Poe?”

“Yup,” she said, popping another pepper into her mouth. She needed to save some for her guests, but they were just so good. “Thanks for the heads up on that one.”

“I’m sorry. But I just felt bad for him, you know?” He reached around her to grab one of the peppers for himself. “Poe’s great though. You’ll love him.”

Rey felt a tingling in what she referred to as her spidey-sense, part premonition, part intuition. There was definitely something off about this, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

She was saved from responding by a knock on the front door.

“Showtime,” she said, smiling as she walked toward the front of the house.

Soon the house was full of people, the sounds of laughter and conversation completely surrounding her. Her stomach growled audibly, the smell of turkey wafting from the kitchen making her mouth water.  

There was another knock at the door, Rey excusing herself from Snap and a very pregnant Karé to head toward the front of the house.

She swung open the door without looking, a smile still on her face from that stupid joke of Snap’s, and stopped dead.

She didn’t recognize the man on her front step, but she could certainly appreciate the view. Dressed in a snug pair of jeans and a flannel shirt, he was holding a covered dish that was steaming slightly in the crisp air. His dark hair was on the longer side, a little shy of what she’d consider overgrown, the soft curls falling just so on his forehead. Warm, brown eyes shone level with her own, ringed by the most ridiculous lashes she’d ever seen on a man. His nose was a bit on the larger side, but somehow it only made him more attractive for the (slight) imperfection. The face was rounded out by a strong, square jawline, one that called mind more than one Disney prince.

“I’m sorry,” he said, extending a hand. She realized with a jolt that she had been staring. “You probably don’t know me. I’m Poe. Poe Dameron.”

She took the offered hand in a slight daze, suddenly not at all annoyed by the last minute addition. “I’m Rey.”

“Oh, you’re Rey!” he said, the corner of his eyes crinkling when he smiled at her. “Thanks for letting me crash last minute.”

“No problem,” she said, waving him off. “Come in, it’s freezing out.”

She stepped out of the doorway to let him in, staring pointedly at the dish still in his hands.

“Candied yams,” he said, noticing her look. “My mother’s recipe.”

Rey struggled to hide her excitement. “Marshmallows?”

“Is there any other way to eat them?”

Her answering smile made her cheeks hurt. “Those are my absolute favorite. I was so bummed when no one wanted to make them this year.”

“Finn may have mentioned something along those lines,” he said, a sheepish smile on his face.

 _Oh_ , she thought, the realization hitting her with the force of semi-truck. _This is a setup._

Of course it was. Finn and Rose would never invite someone last minute without telling her, not unless they thought she’d figure out what was going on. Better to spring it on her last minute so she couldn’t object.

“Where do you want this?” he asked.

She wondered how much he knew. She suppressed a sigh. It didn’t matter at this point. He was here and he had somehow already endeared himself to her with his crinkly smiles and candied yams. With marshmallows.

“Poe!” came Finn’s voice from behind Rey. She turned to find him coming down the hallway. “You made it.”

“There’s no way I’d miss my only opportunity for turkey and stuffing this year. I was just thanking Rey for letting me crash the party.”

“She’s the best,” said Finn throwing an arm around her shoulders. “C’mon, I’ll show you where to put that, then you’ve got to meet everyone.” He lead Poe toward the kitchen, leaving Rey alone with her thoughts.

Ok, so maybe it wasn’t a setup.

She shook her head, finding her way back to the living room and her guests.

The rest of the evening passed in a warm haze of wine and good food and even better friends, Rey laughing until her sides ached as Poe told story after story about his and Finn’s adventures in IT.

He somehow got along with everyone, trading bad jokes with Snap, talking football with Jess and her boyfriend, swapping recipes with Kaydel. He had something in common with everyone, navigating a house full of near strangers with an ease that frankly made Rey a little jealous.

The end of the night found Rey in the kitchen, starting to clean up as the party wound down. Snap and Karé had already left, with Jess and her boyfriend following shortly thereafter, but there were still a few people playing Cards Against Humanity in the living room, including Finn and Rose.

“Anything I can help you with?” asked Poe, sidling up to the counter as Rey scraped a plate into the already full trash can.

“Nah, I’m just gonna put all this into the dishwasher and call it a night.”

“At least let me take that out for you,” he said, gesturing to the overflowing trash can. “Do you have somewhere to put it?”

“Yeah, there’s one of those big cans on the side of the house,” she said, watching as he took out the bag, shaking it slightly to get the garbage down.

He tied off the drawstrings. “Through there,” he asked, pointing to the side door.

She nodded, watching him disappear through the door. He was back in less than a minute, his cheeks already pink from the cold.

“Bags?”

“Under the sink,” she replied, hitting the button to start the dishwasher while he dug around.

He shook the bag out, putting it into the can and replacing the lid.

“Thank you,” she said, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. She had to admit, she was a little in awe of the man. He was kind and funny and he took out her trash, hands down her least favorite chore, especially when it got this cold.

Poe was standing at the edge of the counter, hands in his pockets now that he didn’t have anything to do. He shifted from foot to foot, his nervous energy making Rey nervous by proxy.

“So, I know you said you have this whole plan for Thanksgiving, but, uh, I was wondering if you wanted some company?” he said, running a hand through his hair. He wasn’t quite making eye contact with her. “I’m sure Finn mentioned my dad’s out of town this year, so I’m not doing the family thing either. I can grab a couple pizzas and you can handle the movies?”

Her mind went blank for a second. Was he actually asking her out? On Thanksgiving?

“Or you know, if you don’t want to, it’s no big deal,” he said with a nervous chuckle. His hand was worrying his curls again, something she was starting to pick out as a nervous habit. “It was just a shot in the dark.”

She realized a little too late that she had been silently staring at him for the past minute. “No! I mean, yes, that sounds great. We should definitely do that.”

His face lit up, hand going to the back pocket of his jeans. “Here, put your number in and I’ll text you to firm up plans.”

She took his phone and inputted the digits, saving it under Rey Jones before handing it back to him. He sent her a quick text so she had his number.

“I guess I’ll see you on Thursday, Rey Jones,” he said, offering his hand. She shook it, grateful he didn’t try to go in for a hug yet.

“I’ll see you Thursday, Poe Dameron.”

He turned to leave, Rey appreciating the view as he retreated. If you asked her, those jeans were doing God’s work.

She heard him say good-bye to the stragglers in living room, followed by the sound of the front door shutting.  Rey released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

She had a date. With a very good looking man. Who made her laugh. And who her friends already loved.

Smiling to herself, she tossed the dish towel onto the counter before heading in to the living room with the rest of her friends.

 _Maybe_ , she thought, _Just maybe, I’ll have something new to be thankful for this year._

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr at [BatuuPrincess](https://batuuprincess.tumblr.com).


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